The moment a believer chooses to set aside a right of revenge when fully able to take it, they reveal that their soul is governed by their Lord rather than their nature. Forgiveness is not weakness; it is the heaviest virtue, precisely because human nature resists it. This sermon explores the meaning of forgiveness in the light of Allah's name Al-Afuww, the Qur'anic commands to pardon, and the lived examples from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Allah's Names — Al-Afuww and Al-Ghafur
The name Al-Afuww carries a meaning beyond bare forgiveness: it points to Allah erasing the trace of the sin itself, so that nothing remains to be held against the servant. The Qur'an pairs this name with Al-Ghafur (the Most Forgiving) to describe the unbounded mercy of the Divine:
ذَٰلِكَۖ وَمَنۡ عَاقَبَ بِمِثۡلِ مَا عُوقِبَ بِهِۦ ثُمَّ بُغِيَ عَلَيۡهِ لَيَنصُرَنَّهُ ٱللَّهُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورࣱ
— Surah Al-Hajj 22:60So shall it be; whoever retaliates in the same measure as he was harmed and is then wronged again — Allah will surely help him. Indeed, Allah is Most Pardoning, Most Forgiving.
Allah commands His servants never to fall into despair of His mercy. In what is widely called the most hope-bearing verse of the Qur'an, He says:
۞قُلۡ يَٰعِبَادِيَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسۡرَفُواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ لَا تَقۡنَطُواْ مِن رَّحۡمَةِ ٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغۡفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًاۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
— Surah Az-Zumar 39:53Say: 'O My servants who have transgressed against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.'
The verse does not say "sin freely, for Allah will forgive." It addresses one who has already transgressed and is on the verge of giving up. Allah's door of forgiveness is open to repentance — never to recklessness.
In Surah Al-Hijr, Allah commands the Prophet to deliver this very message:
۞نَبِّئۡ عِبَادِيٓ أَنِّيٓ أَنَا ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
— Surah Al-Hijr 15:49Inform My servants that it is I who am the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Qur'anic Call to Forgive
Allah does not only describe Himself as forgiving; He demands the same virtue from the believer. In Surah Al-A'raf, the Prophet receives a three-part directive:
خُذِ ٱلۡعَفۡوَ وَأۡمُرۡ بِٱلۡعُرۡفِ وَأَعۡرِضۡ عَنِ ٱلۡجَٰهِلِينَ
— Surah Al-A'raf 7:199Take to forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.
When this verse was revealed, the Prophet asked the angel Jibril (Gabriel) for its practical meaning. Jibril answered: "Allah is commanding you to pardon the one who wrongs you, to give to the one who withholds from you, and to keep the bond with the one who severs it from you." These three actions translate forgiveness from an abstract idea into a daily practice.
Surah Al-Furqan paints the portrait of the true servants of the Most Merciful, and forgiveness sits at the heart of that portrait:
وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمۡشُونَ عَلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ هَوۡنࣰ ا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلۡجَٰهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلَٰمࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:63The servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly, and when the ignorant address them, they reply with words of peace.
Surah Ash-Shura preserves the balance between rights and excellence:
وَجَزَٰٓؤُاْ سَيِّئَةࣲ سَيِّئَةࣱ مِّثۡلُهَاۖ فَمَنۡ عَفَا وَأَصۡلَحَ فَأَجۡرُهُۥ عَلَى ٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
— Surah Ash-Shura 42:40The recompense for an evil is an evil like it. But whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah. Indeed, He does not love the wrongdoers.
Retaliation in equal measure is a right; the believer who exercises that right is not blamed. But to forgo the right — to forgive — is a virtue, and its reward lies with Allah Himself. The moral horizon of the Muslim extends past the line of mere justice into the territory of grace.
Forgiveness in the Profile of the Believer
In Surah Al-Imran, Allah identifies forgiveness as one of three defining traits of the God-conscious:
ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَٱلۡكَٰظِمِينَ ٱلۡغَيۡظَ وَٱلۡعَافِينَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ
— Surah Al-Imran 3:134Those who spend in times of ease and hardship, who restrain their anger, and who pardon people — and Allah loves those who do good.
The pairing of al-kāẓimīn al-ghayẓ (those who swallow their rage) with al-‘āfīna (those who pardon) is deliberate. Forgiveness is not only a matter of the tongue; it is the cooling of the fire already burning inside. Anger that is not swallowed wounds the heart even when it never reaches the tongue.
A Divine narration (hadith qudsi) declares:
— al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman, no. 7973The highest of virtues is that you keep ties with the one who has cut them with you, that you give to the one who has deprived you, and that you forgive the one who has wronged you.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) describes the elevating power of forgiveness in another tradition:
— Sahih Muslim, al-Birr wa as-Silah, no. 2588Charity does not decrease wealth. No servant forgives but that Allah increases him in honour. No one humbles himself for Allah's sake except that Allah raises him.
Imam al-Ghazali, in Ihya' Ulum al-Din, narrates that Prophet Musa once asked: "O my Lord, who is the most beloved of Your servants?" Allah replied: "The one who, when able to take revenge, forgives." Forgiveness, in other words, is not the absence of power; it is the voluntary non-use of power one already holds.
Stories — Forgiveness in the Life of the Prophet
The Conquest of Mecca — The Largest Possible Revenge, Refused
For years, the leaders of Quraysh had heaped every form of harm on the Prophet: mocking him, threatening him with death, scattering thorns on his path, throwing filth on him, dragging him by a rope around his neck, and labelling him a magician and a soothsayer.
On the day Mecca fell to the Muslims, the Prophet finally held the means to repay years of persecution. The city was his. His former enemies stood before him, awaiting their fate. He turned to them and asked:
— "O people of Quraysh, what do you think I will do with you?"
They answered in one voice: "We hope for good. You are a noble brother and the son of a noble brother."
The Prophet's reply borrowed the very words of Prophet Yusuf to his brothers in the Qur'an: "As Yusuf said to his brothers, so I say to you today — there shall be no reproach upon you. Go, you are free."
This is the supreme moment of forgiveness in Islamic history. Years of insult, war, and exile were erased in a single sentence. The Conquest of Mecca was a military victory, but more profoundly an ethical one.
The Journey to Ta'if and the Angel of the Mountains
When persecution intensified in Mecca, the Prophet travelled to Ta'if with his companion Zayd ibn Harithah. The three notables of the city — Abd-i Yalil, Mas'ud, and Habib — insulted him and ordered him to leave.
But Ta'if did not stop there. The leaders set the riffraff of the city upon him. They lined the road on both sides and pelted him with stones until his blessed feet bled. Each time he sat down from the pain, they pulled him upright and threw stones again at his wounded feet, laughing at the sight. The Prophet later said he had endured no greater suffering in his life.
On the road back to Mecca, at a place called Qarn al-Tha'alib, the angel Jibril appeared with the Angel of the Mountains. After greeting the Prophet, the Angel said:
— "O Muhammad, if you wish, I will crush the two mountains of Mecca, Abu Qubays and Quayqi'an, upon the people of Ta'if."
The reply of the Prophet, sent as mercy to all creation, was:
— "No. Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their descendants those who will worship Him alone and associate no partner with Him."
Years later, when the Muslims besieged Ta'if, the Prophet prayed: "O Allah, guide the people of Ta'if and bring them into Islam." In time, the leaders of Ta'if did embrace Islam.
The Bedouin with the Sword at Najd
Returning from the campaign at Najd, the Prophet's army rested in a wooded valley. The Prophet hung his sword on the branch of an acacia tree and fell asleep. A Bedouin seized the opportunity, drew the sword from its sheath, and stood over the Prophet. When the Prophet awoke, the Bedouin shouted:
— "O Muhammad, who will save you from me now?"
Without hesitation, the Prophet answered:
— "Allah will save me."
At the majesty of that answer, the sword fell from the Bedouin's hand. The Prophet took it up and asked:
— "And who will save you from me?"
The Bedouin said: "Be the best of those who take revenge." The Prophet released him. Returning to his companions, the Bedouin said: "I have come from the best of men."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Maghazi, no. 4135The Bedouin Who Yanked the Cloak
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: I was walking with the Prophet. He was wearing a thick cloak of Najran fabric with a stiff collar. A Bedouin caught up to us and pulled hard on the cloak. I looked at the Prophet's neck and saw that the rough fabric had left a mark from the violence of the pull.
The Bedouin shouted rudely: "O Muhammad, order that I be given from the wealth of Allah that is in your possession."
The Prophet turned to the Bedouin, smiled, and ordered that something be given to him.
— Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Khumus, no. 3149To respond to rudeness with a smile is the form of forgiveness that seems simple in writing and weighs heaviest on the soul.
The Wisdom of Forgiveness — and Its Limits
Forgiveness yields three intertwined gains:
- Standing with Allah: The hadith "No servant forgives but that Allah increases him in honour" affirms the reward beyond this world.
- Standing with people: The one who forgives does not shrink in the eyes of others; they grow. The one who takes revenge, even justly, is rarely loved for it.
- The integrity of the heart: Refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to suffer. The one who forgives heals their own wound first.
A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) described the Prophet as one who never took revenge for his own sake. He only punished when the limits set by Allah had been transgressed.
This statement also draws the limit of forgiveness. To pardon a personal wrong is virtue; to remain silent before the violation of Allah's rights and the rights of others is not. The believer is forgiving in matters of the self, and uncompromising in matters of justice.
Putting Forgiveness Into Practice With VAAZ
The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection in the VAAZ app features Al-Afuww and Al-Ghafur with their meanings and virtues. The dua archive holds istighfar and repentance supplications which, paired with the Astaghfirullah dhikr from the daily dhikr guide, build a steady spiritual habit around forgiveness.
For the close companion virtue of patience, see Sermon on Sabr; for the broader framework of Islamic character, see Akhlak Sermons (pillar).
Forgiveness is the virtue by which the believer is elevated. Revenge, even when justified, leaves both parties equal; forgiveness places the believer ahead — ahead of the other person, and ahead of their own lower self. Allah's command "Take to forgiveness" is the highest possible use of human strength.
References
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Hajj 22:60.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Az-Zumar 39:53.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Hijr 15:49.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-A'raf 7:199.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Furqan 25:63.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Ash-Shura 42:40.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Imran 3:134.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of al-Maghazi, hadith no. 4135 (the Bedouin at Najd).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of al-Khumus, hadith no. 3149 (the Bedouin and the cloak).
- Sahih Muslim, Book of al-Birr wa as-Silah, hadith no. 2588 ("Charity does not decrease wealth").
- al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman, hadith no. 7973 (The highest of virtues).
- Imam al-Ghazali, Ihya' Ulum al-Din, on Virtue and Forgiveness.